The Fare War
by Grant Stockwell
Summary: When Axel gets a new job at the Crazy Taxi Cab Company, he feels like his life can't get any better. But when a greedy rival decides he wants the business of Crazy Taxi's loyal customers, he'll do anything to get it. Soon, the cabbies will have to fight off corporate subterfuge and even hired killers if they want to keep their business, and themselves, alive.
1. Come Out Swinging

San Francisco, California.  
April 1999.

On the top floor of a small, elevated parkade, three people stood surrounding a bright yellow 1959 Cadillac Eldorado Convertible. A car cover, carelessly tossed aside, lay crumpled beside the vehicle. A conspicuous "Taxi" sign had been attached to the top of the car's windshield.

"Well, what you guys think?" said one of the three, his voice a deep baritone. The oldest of the group at forty-two, he was unshaven, had a receding hairline and a bit of a gut. However, that didn't stop him from rocking an open Hawaiian shirt.

"Looks nice, Gus. But I want a look under the hood. Let's see what makes this thing tick," said one of his companions, an attractive young redhead and the lone female of the group.

Gus reached over the door of the Cadillac and popped the hood. The redhead lifted it and let out a whistle.

"Quite an overhaul," she commented coolly, "not bad at all. I've just got one question..."  
Gus' smile never wavered. "What's that Gena?"

Gena slammed the hood down and glared at him. "How much of OUR money did you spend on this damn thing?"

"Now wait a minute! This baby isn't _costing _us any money; it's going to be _making _us money. Crazy money!" Gus put his hands up in a mock show of defense and turned to the third member of the group. "Help me out here Joe."

B.D Joe slowly took off his shades and peered at the car from underneath his floral patterned hat. He was a smooth black man who oozed cool.

"It ain't gonna be makin' us any cake sitting in the garage, Gus," he said, "in case you forgot how to count, we've now got four cars and three drivers. This thing will just be taking up space."

"So we hire a new driver, what's the big deal?" Gus shrugged. "I found the two of you didn't I?"

Gena had already stormed away from the others and was heading over to her own car, a heavily souped 1965 Chevy Nova. She hopped over the driver's side door before turning to look at Gus one more time.

"You'd better find a damn good driver pretty damn soon. Look Gus, I know you like to gamble, but next time do it with your own money alright? The company can't afford to support your bad habit." With that, she turned the ignition and peeled out.

Gus turned to B.D Joe, who was putting his shades back on. "Good luck, man," was all he said before turning away.

* * *

"Axel!"

The shout roused a young man from his afternoon nap. He sat up and ran a hand through his bright green hair. "Yeah, what is it boss?"

"We've got a customer. Wants be picked up down at the beach. Get off your ass and get over there, now!"

"Alright, alright, I'm on it. I'm going." Axel got up off the decades old couch that made up one of the only pieces of furniture in the dingy office of the SF Rickshaw Company.

Stepping out into the California sunlight, he cracked his knuckles and walked over to the three wheeled bike cab the company used to transport their passengers. The cab was rusty and the passenger's seat was in rough shape. The run-down look of the thing was probably the main reason Axel rarely seemed to pick up a customer. He hopped on to the bike and started his journey down to the beach, weaving in and out of the backed up rush hour traffic with ease. His destination wasn't too far away from the office, and soon he had picked up speed as he traveled down the huge step-like hills alongside the city's cable cars. He reached the bottom of the hill and made a sharp turn, merging in with the traffic from Sail Street, then from Freshtree Street. He practically flew by the Seaside Market before finally coming to a stop on the beach, hunched over the handlebars panting as he waited for his passenger, a girl with a snorkel still on her face, to stroll across the sand towards the cab. Axel was in good shape, but riding around this city with all its traffic and hills was still an exhausting endeavor.

The girl finally reached the cab and jumped in the back.

"Where to?" Axel asked her.

"I need to get to the KFC," she answered. "I forgot I was meeting my friend there and I'm due in a few minutes. Do you think you could hurry?"

"Sure thing!" said Axel. He started pedalling, pulling back out onto the street. Traffic was still heavy, and he was doing his best to keep pace without crashing into any moving vehicles. The yacht harbour was coming up on his right. He followed the road as it turned left, then right, then left again. As he passed by the Pizza Hut, he noticed his passenger looking nervously at her wristwatch.

"Oh no, I'm really going to be late!" she cried. She looked up at Axel. "Look, I hate to ask this of you but...see I usually call up this other cab company. Apparently they all have a meeting to attend today and...oh, could you just cut through the park please!"

Up ahead was Square Park, a place that lived up to its name. On a map of the city, the park was a big square green space that suddenly appeared right in the middle of the road. The fastest way to get past the park legally would be to stay on the main street and ride all the way around the perimeter. The last thing Axel wanted was to have a cop catch him riding over someone's picnic basket. He was about to give the crazy girl behind him a less than polite refusal, but her next statement quickly changed his mind.  
"Look, I'll give you an extra hundred dollar tip if you can do this for me!"

If there was one thing that truly spoke to Axel, it was cash. The prospect of a hundred extra bucks was one that he could not pass up. He had to pay rent and his usual wage wasn't enough to cover it. He could be risking his job, but if he pulled this off...

The park was made up of a few grassy knolls, separated from each other by 4 roads that cut through the square before meeting in a large roundabout at the center. Ignoring the intersection with the perimeter streets, Axel pedaled the bike with everything he had. He barely missed a hotdog cart as he rode up the first knoll. As he reached the apex of the small hill, he could even feel the wheels leaving the ground. The bike was going fast enough to get air! He touched down again, cutting straight across the curving street of the roundabout. At its center was another knoll, and again Axel's bike became airborne. The small hills of the park were acting as natural ramps! There was one more section of the park to cut through; Axel was going to pull this off after all! He grinned as he blasted his way over the final hills, and the ride became a lot smoother as the bike cut back onto the main road. Suddenly his grin faded and he hit the brakes hard. He'd driven his cab right up into the tail end of a traffic jam!

"Oh, damn it!" his passenger cried. "I'm never going to make it to KFC on time now!"

Axel could already feel the sweet, sweet C-note slipping out of his fingers. He glanced around himself, desperately trying to find some way to get through the clogged road.

Then he saw it. A conspicuous yellow convertible (a gorgeous 1963 Chevy Impala, to be precise), was making its way down the ramp from the old parkade. Axel turned around and looked his passenger in the eye.

"Look," he began slowly, "I've got an idea. It's insane, but-"

"Just do it!" she said. "If you can get me to the restaurant on time, it's another hundred bucks for you!"

Another hundred? Axel was convinced she was crazy now. Crazy, but hopefully loaded with cash. Quickly, the bike dashed out from behind the car in front of it and cut into the oncoming lane. Axel pedaled up the parkade ramp and turned right, speeding through the mass of parked cars. There was only one other person in the parkade currently, some old dude in a Hawaiian shirt standing beside an old Cadillac.

"Hey!" his passenger shouted, "there's Gus!"

"You know him?"" Axel asked.

"Yeah, he's a cabbie that works with the company I usually call up. The one I mentioned earlier."

"Hm," Axel grunted. He didn't have much time to think about some other cab company right now. "Hang on, lady. This is about to get rough!"

An interesting feature of this particular parkade was the concrete wheel stops at the end of each parking stall. They were somewhat oddly shaped, not so much wheel stops as small ramps. When parking, the occasional driver could feel the front of his car slope upward slightly if he went to far forward. It didn't pose much of a safety hazard, however, as a large concrete wall ran most of the way around the perimeter of the parkade. It would take a lot of speed for anything to clear that wall.

Axel's cab had a lot of speed.

The bike hit one of the wheel stops. Axel leaned back and pulled up on the handle bars, trying to give the cab as much leverage as he could. The bike got enough air; it cleared the retaining wall! For a moment the bike soared through the air. Quickly though, it began to plummet toward street level.

Gus stared at the spot where the bike had just been. "Well I'll be damned." He muttered to himself.

Axel grimaced and braced himself for a hard landing. He wasn't too worried about his passenger; with her padded seat she should be fine. The bike came down hard on the asphalt of the street, the impact nearly wrenching the handlebars from his grip. Just behind them, he could see the cause of the traffic jam he and his passenger had just avoided. A car pulling out of the Levi's store just across from the parkade had been struck by an oncoming truck. That crack-up had nearly cost Axel the biggest payday of his life, but quick thinking and a daredevil attitude had paid off. He was on the home stretch, just a few metres away from his customer's destination. Tower Records passed by on his left. Up ahead the road split in two, and right at the fork laid the KFC. Axel hardly slowed down as he flew into the parking lot. Just outside the glass doors of the entrance to the restaurant, he jammed on the handbrake of his cab, bringing it to a screeching halt. Behind him, his customer was ecstatic.

"Wow! What a ride! And I'm right on time!" she said with a huge smile. She climbed out of the rear of the cab and brought out her purse. "That was a great job! If my usual cab company is ever busy again, I know who I'll be calling!"

From her purse, she extracted eighty dollars and fifty-five cents, the total fare for the trip. To this, she added three one hundred dollar bills. "And there's the tip for your trouble," she said, her huge smile still on full display.

Axel stared at the cash as he took it into his hand.

"Oh wow! Uh, thank you," he said.

"No, thank _you_!" she replied cheerily.

It was only when Axel looked up to see her go into the restaurant that he noticed she was still wearing the snorkel.

* * *

"Are you kidding me or something? You really expect me to believe that crap!"

Axel's boss, a short fat man with graying hair, was red in the face with rage. Axel's story of how he had been tipped three hundred dollars had caused the boss to go slack jawed. A still lit cigar lay on the floor where it had fallen after dropping out of his open mouth. The cash was lying on the desk between them.

"It's the truth boss. You know what the fare is for a trip that distance. The three hundred is a tip! It's mine!"

"Bah! This-this..." the boss stuttered and struggled to find words. "This is embezzlement! You're stealing from my company!"

"What?!" Axel was outraged now. "Listen you old crank, that's a lie and you know it!"

"Oh, I'm a liar am I?" The boss was really pissed now. He looked like his cranium was about to explode. "I ought to fire you right now, you damn punk!"

Axel frowned. "You know what; I'll save you the trouble. I quit! I've had it with you and with this piece of crap company!"

"Fine! But don't think you're walking out of here with any of this!" The boss reached across the desk and scooped up all the cash.

Axel stormed out of the office and onto the sidewalk. He was too tired to keep fighting and just wanted to go home. As he began what was going to be a long walk, he heard a car horn beep just behind him. He turned his head and raised an eyebrow. Behind him, sitting in a custom 1949 Mercury taxi cab, was Gus, the guy his passenger had pointed out in the parkade.

Gus grinned. "Need a ride, kid?"

Axel turned around. "Thanks, but I don't really have the cash on me."

Gus just kept grinning and waved his hand nonchalantly. "This one's on the house. See, my company and I have a business proposition for you. Get in the car and we'll talk on the way."


	2. All I Want

It wasn't often that Axel got up at the first ring of his alarm, but being on time today would mean the difference between having a roof over his head for the next month and living out on the street. It seemed strange that he'd pick up a new job as a cabbie immediately after losing his old one. Still, Axel knew the streets of Frisco better than just about anybody, and Gus had seemed like a genuine, down to earth guy. Riding in the passenger's seat of Gus' cab, Axel had listened to the "business proposition."

"I run a small cab company," Gus had said, "that is unlike any other company in the city. We provide three things; cool cars, loud music, and a hell of a lot of excitement!"

"Well, I suppose you've figured out that I have experience as a bike cabbie," Axel had said.

"Yep, I saw that stunt you pulled down at the old parkade earlier today**. **Cindy, your passenger, is a regular of ours. She's a student at the university, an avid snorkeler, and comes from a very well-to-do family out of Wisconsin." Gus grinned. "I called her up and asked her if she thought you'd be a good fit for Crazy Taxi. I must say, you come very highly recommended."

"Yeah, wish the old fart I just quit on had seen that." Axel spoke before thinking, and immediately began to mentally kick himself for it. Trashing your old employer wasn't a good way to endear yourself to a potential new boss.

Gus didn't seem to take any offence to the remark. "Well, maybe his loss will be our gain, eh kid?"

And now, less than twelve hours later, Axel found himself awake, showered, dressed, and walking up to the entrance of a nondescript one storey building. It was obviously built for an automotive business, with numerous car ports built into it and a fair sized parking lot out front. Axel found it somewhat odd that the building had no visible signage anywhere, but he double checked the address Gus had scrawled on a post-it note to confirm that he had the right place. Walking through the front door, he found himself in a short hallway. With a quick glance around, he noticed the first door on his left was open. Walking into the room, Axel saw three people seated around a small coffee table. His eyes were immediately drawn to the hot girl in the leopard print shirt, who was currently lounging on a couch and sorting through a number of hot rodding magazines in an apparent attempt to decide which one to read. There were also two men seated across from each other with hands full of playing cards. One was a cool looking black dude in a floral hat, the other the one person in the room Axel had previously met – Gus.

Gus finally looked up and spotted Axel, who suddenly felt a bit embarrassed for just standing there in the doorway and staring.

"Uh, hey guys," Axel said with a bit of a nervous chuckle. "I'm here for the job interview?"

The girl slowly looked up from her pile of magazines and fixed Axel with a hard gaze. "Great," he thought, "I've said one sentence and already one of them hates me."

"Ah, Axel! You're here right on time! That's a good start for this business!" Gus had a wide smile on his face, but before he could say anything more, a telephone began to ring.

Gus reached down to where the phone sat on the coffee table and picked up the receiver.

"Hello? Oh hey Kim; didn't know you were back in town." Gus paused to listen to a voice on the other end of the line, then, "Well sure! We'd love to give you a ride down to the hotel! Alright, how about I send B.D. Joe down to get you? Cool, he'll be there in a flash."

B.D. Joe jumped up off the couch, his ever present smile as huge as it could possibly be. "Where am I picking him up, Gus?" he asked.

"Down at the R.B. Station. He just got in on the train for his vacation. Apparently just bought himself a new camcorder too, so make sure you put on a good show."

"Yeah, we gonna have some fun!" Joe said. With that, he jogged out the door and into the hallway. A few moments later, Axel heard a car starting up. Tires squealed and the roar of an engine faded into the distance as B.D. Joe headed off to pick up his fare.

"Well," Gus said, turning back to Axel, "I guess we'll just have to introduce you to B.D. Joe later. This here is Gena."

Axel held out his hand in an attempt to be polite, and was somewhat relieved when Gena accepted it.

"Let's see what you've got," she said. Her voice was warm and smooth. "I'll take a head start down to the beach to set up for the second part of the...interview as you put it." She left the room, heading towards the garage.

"Huh. And here I thought she already hated my guts." Axel remarked.

Gus chuckled. "Gena's as cool as a cucumber unless you get on her bad side. And right now, I'm the one on her bad side. You're the only hope I've got of smoothing things out around here."

"Me? Why me?"

"It's a long story kid. Come on, it's time for the first part of the interview." Gus said.

Axel followed Gus out the door and into the little hallway. They walked all the way to the end where the hallway made a left turn. Beyond the corner were four doors on the left side, each with a number fixed to it.  
"Number four will be your garage kid. Well, that is if you get the job." Gus said as he unlocked the last door before the end of the hallway. Walking through, Axel found himself in a well equipped garage. There was enough room to maneuver around and work on the big car parked in the center, the gorgeous '59 Cadillac Axel had briefly noticed in the parkade the day before.

"Nice ride," he said.

"Sure is kid." Gus was looking at the car fondly. "That's why I bought and restored this baby. Didn't even have to worry about rust all that much, since it's been a California car its whole life. But it's just sitting here, not making any cash. And that's why we need a driver."

He reached into his shirt pocket and produced a key ring with a Cadillac logo fob and a single key. He tossed it over to Axel.

"So," Gus said, "let's get this interview started. Gena's down at the beach setting up the second test. That's only about four kilometers away. A Crazy Taxi driver should get there in about three or four minutes."

"Three or four minutes!" Axel exclaimed. "How am I supposed to get there that fast? Especially in the kind of traffic we get around here."

"By any means necessary." Gus replied. "Shortcuts, going off road, cutting through traffic. Anything goes with us, especially if it gives our customers a thrill. The more fun they have, the bigger the tips we get."

Axel took a deep breath. "Alright," he said. "Sit down and hold on."

* * *

Though he'd practiced and got his driver's license soon after turning sixteen and had plenty of experience with cars, Axel hadn't been able to afford one of his own on his bike cabbie salary. He hadn't gone to college, and hadn't made many plans for his future. Right now, all he wanted was to keep a roof over his head and have dinner every night. And if that meant driving like a madman to score this job and the insane tips that came with it, that was what he was going to do.

He had to admit he was enjoying himself right now. It didn't seem to take him any time at all to get used to handling himself behind the wheel of this big road boat. The Cadillac's engine roared as Axel raced it down the streets of San Francisco. Gus sat beside him with a sheet of paper on a clipboard and a pencil that he had taken out of the glove compartment. As Axel swerved into the oncoming lanes, overtook other cars at close range and powerslid around corners; Gus made small notes on the paper. At one point, Axel managed to get air off of a small hill as he zoomed along the oceanside road. He took a quick glance at Gus and saw him writing furiously, a small smile on his face.

Finally, Axel saw the beach coming up fast. He could see a conspicuous orange and white Chevy Nova sitting on the sand and assumed it must be Gena's cab. Currently, Axel was driving in the oncoming lane, seeing as his own side of the road seemed a bit more congested. Axel looked for an opportunity and found it. His right tires were on the double yellow line, his Cadillac nearly sideswiping three cars as he overtook them. After passing the third car, Axel found a space of just over a car length between it and the car ahead of it. With precision timing, he cranked the steering wheel right and veered from the oncoming lane. The cab slipped between the two other vehicles with only inches to spare. It careened across two lanes of asphalt and onto the soft sand of the beach.

Axel had made it to the beach well within his time limit, but now he faced another problem. The big taxi had lost a lot of traction in the sand, and was heading straight towards Gena and her cab at incredible velocity. Axel pumped the brakes a few times before jamming his foot down on the pedal. The wheels of the cab locked up, but he felt the car gradually begin to slow as it slid across the sand. Just when Axel thought the impact was imminent, the Cadillac ground to a halt, coming nose to nose with Gena's Nova.

Axel let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding in. He was staring at the steering wheel, which he was still holding on to with a white-knuckle grip. In spite of himself, he began to chuckle as the adrenaline slowly left his system. Beside him, Gus was still scribbling a last few notes. The veteran cabbie didn't seem to be shaken at all.

It was only when he wiped his forehead with his hand that he noticed that he had broken out into a cold sweat at some point during the drive. Soft footsteps approached the side of the cab and he looked up to see Gena standing beside them.

"You realize that if you had hit my car, I would have killed you right here on the spot," she said. Despite her silky smooth voice and the slight smile on her lips, Axel had the feeling that she was being deathly serious.


	3. You're Gonna Go Far, Kid

"Well Gus, how did your boy do?" Gena asked.

"Not bad at all," Gus replied, looking down at the notes on his clipboard. "I was pretty impressed with how he handled that big car. He isn't afraid to take risks and even got some air at one point."

Axel was out of earshot, positioning his cab into the large rectangle Gena had drawn in the sand. The three cabbies were currently in a gated off section of the beach, away from the public area. A rather menacing red sign with "PRIVATE PROPERTY" in large white letters had greeted them on their way through the gate. According to Gus and Gena, the space belonged to another customer of the cab company who often let them use it for driving practice; including the test Axel was about to undertake.

The rectangle was a makeshift "starting block," placed at one end of the property. At the other, Gena had planted a tall triangular flag into the sand. Axel parked as he had been instructed, with the rear of the car towards the flag. As Axel was wondering what exactly he was expected to do, he heard the hum of an approaching engine.

Through the gate came B.D. Joe in his Impala, his speakers blasting a loud a punk rock song. He pulled the car to a stop, parking it alongside Gena and Gus' cabs. He hopped over the door and flashed his friends a charming smile.

"Looks like I got here just in time!" he said. "I was hoping to catch at least part of the action!"

Gena returned his smile. "Hey B.D. How's Kim doing these days?"

"Aw, he's as good as he's ever been. That new camcorder of his is pretty fine. I have no idea how he held it straight all the way through that wild ride I gave him!"

Axel had finished getting his cab into position and walked up to the group.

"Axel!" Gus said as he approached, "I'd like to officially introduce you to B.D. Joe."

Joe stuck out his hand. "Glad to meet you!"

"Same here," Axel said, accepting the handshake. "Now, how about this test you've got set up for me?"

"Well, Gus says you're a pretty good driver, and you got to the beach here pretty quickly. But it's not all about speed; you've got to be precise too." Gena gestured to the flag. "That flag represents a customer. You're job is to get your cab over here as fast as you can and park it as close as possible to the flag without knocking it over. Remember, our customers have no time to waste, but we won't have any in the first place if you run them over."

"Alright, piece of cake." Axel said with a cocky grin.

"If you say so," said Gena. She leaned over the door of her cab, reached into the glove compartment, and pulled out an airhorn. "Start up your cab. The clock starts when you hear this horn."

* * *

The lookout tower was a popular tourist attraction, especially now as the summer months began to approach. It was close to the bus station, just outside of the downtown area, and offered the best view of the bay one could get. Sightseers dressed in shorts and light T-shirts crowded around the railings at both the top of the tower and the base, pointing out boats, surfers, birds, and anything else that happened to be on the water.

Among them, however, was a man who seemed to be somewhat out of place. Portly and dressed in a dark suit, he stayed at the base and kept close to the side of the tower. Every few seconds he checked the expensive digital watch on his wrist. He was sweating profusely, giving him an overall greasy look. Obviously nervous, he was about to check his watch once more when-

"'My god Chester, what are you wearing? Do you have any idea of the concept of subtlety?"

The portly man almost jumped at the sound of the voice. He turned to see another man, sandy haired and dressed like just another tourist.

"I...I was under the impression that this was to be a...business deal."

"Indeed it is. That still doesn't excuse your complete stupidity. Come on, let's take a walk."

Chester gulped. "A...a walk?" he stuttered.

"There's too much of a crowd here for my liking," the "tourist" replied, "and thanks to that get up they're going to remember you now."

"Maybe we should reschedule?"

"Do you really want to waste my time? I said we're taking a walk."

"Sure thing, sir." Chester was sweating even more profusely now. He held out a clammy hand towards the "tourist." "My name is-"

"Blake Chester, owner of the Blue Ribbon Taxi Service. Born May 19, 1956, blood type AB positive. I know just about everything there is to know about you, Mr. Chester. It's part of my job security."

Chester withdrew his outstretched hand. He had the overwhelming sensation that what he was about to do was a very bad idea.

"You can call me LaRocque," his companion said after a few moments of silence. "My employer Mr. Parelli has told me you have a little bit of a business problem that you'd like some consultation for."

"Uh, yes," Chester said. His hands were now firmly clasped together in front of his large belly. "Have you heard of the Crazy Taxi company?"

"In passing. A new competitor for your own company I imagine."

"I wasn't worried about them for the longest time." Chester said. "They've always maintained a small clientele and they hadn't been putting much of a dent into my business. But recently I came to learn about how their practices work. It turns out that their customer base isn't so much small as it is...shall we say exclusive?"

"So they cater to a few rich guys, eh?" LaRocque grinned. "To be honest, Mr. Chester, I don't see why you need the help of me and my associates. It seems like quite the risk to take for just a few more customers. Surely with your resources you could get those customers over to your side. Maybe even buy out Crazy Taxi, if that doesn't work."

Blake shook his head. "It's not that simple. There's no way my company can compete with what they do for their customers."

"Why not?" LaRocque asked.

"According to the rumours," said Chester, "they charge a premium for their services, upwards of fifteen hundred dollars per ride. Their clients are all very rich individuals. If they need to get somewhere fast, they're willing to pay for it. And for the kind of money they charge, the Crazy Taxi drivers are willing to break any rules of the road to get the customer to their destination on time. They enjoy the speed and the service, so they keep quiet about any illegal maneuvers on the road."

"So you want that big money going into your coffers, and not Crazy Taxi's," LaRocque said.

"Exactly," Chester was almost sweating through his suit thanks to walking under the California sun and the tension of telling his story. He watched LaRocque from the corner of his eye. LaRocque's face was calm and unreadable, and it gave Chester an uneasy feeling.

"Alright Mr. Chester," LaRocque said after a few moments of thought, "I think we will be able to strike a deal that suits us both. You'll get your new customers and their deep pockets. Let's say, ten thousand dollars up front and fifty percent of the profits those customers provide."

"Fifty percent?" Chester exclaimed, "I think that's a little bit unreasonable."

"I don't," said LaRocque, "I could have taken a percentage of your whole business. If what you've said about Crazy Taxi's customers is true, you'll still be making a pretty penny off of them. We'll call the fifty percent our finder's fee. Do we have a deal?"

Every ounce of Blake Chester's being was telling him to call the deal off. This was his chance, a way out before he started dealing with some very dangerous people. Was it worth it, even with the amount of money he stood to make?

"It's a deal," Chester replied.

* * *

The air horn blared from across the beach and Axel stepped on the gas pedal. The tires of the cab bit into the hard packed sand of the beach and the car jerked backwards. It accelerated quickly, but Axel knew that the top reverse speed wasn't going to be enough. Besides, he was trying to make an impression here. He was about halfway down the length of the beach when he jammed his foot on the brake pedal and cranked on the steering wheel. The cab's wheels locked up and the car went into a perfectly controlled spin. The front came around one hundred and eighty degrees as Axel threw the car back into gear. The Cadillac lurched forward and continued down the shoreline, this time facing forwards. The flag was coming up fast now. All Axel had to do was line the car up correctly and wait for exactly the right moment...

He hit the brakes and turned the wheel again. This time the big car went into powerslide, kicking up sand from its rear wheels. It slid sideways for the last few yards, slowing as it approached the flag. Finally, the car came to a stop less than an inch away from the flagpole.

B.D Joe was the first to react, nudging Gena excitedly with his elbow. "Aw man! Did you see that! Now that's what I call some amazing driving!"

"You can say that again," Gena said, "I've never seen anyone pull off a J-turn like that in a car that size."

Gus laughed. "What did I tell you guys? Is this kid great or what!"

"I still don't like your gambles Gus," Gena said, "but it looks like this one paid off. He's got my vote."

"What do you say, Joe?" Gus asked.

"Aw yeah! This guy has it, man! He's in!"

"Alright then," Gus said, "let's go say hello to the newest Crazy Taxi cabbie!"


	4. Inner Logic

Axel stood in the parking lot of Crazy Taxi headquarters, spraying down his cab with a shower of water from a garden hose. The car was caked with dirt as a result of his cutting through some grassy slopes as he took his passenger, a Catholic priest, down the big hill towards the church. Avoiding the wide turns of the hill's long winding road had saved Axel a lot of precious seconds, earned him a generous tip, and got the priest to the church in time to deliver his sermon. Unfortunately, it also meant that he had to stand outside and scrub the cab back to a sparkling shine. While Axel did want his cab to look presentable, he was working to Gena's standards more than his own. If any disrespect were shown to any of the Crazy Taxi cars, the offender was going to get an earful from her.

In his relatively short time as a Crazy Taxi driver, Axel thought he had pretty much figured out the personalities and roles of his colleagues. Gena was a total gearhead, and although it wasn't an official title, Axel thought of her as Crazy Taxi's head mechanic. If your cab's engine was making strange noises or the suspension needed to be re-tuned after a particularly nasty jump, she was the one to turn to.

B.D. Joe drove for Crazy Taxi because he would do anything for fun. A talented musician, he spent a majority of his leisure time trying to figure out how to turn any object he could get his hands on into a musical instrument. Over the course of the past two weeks, Axel had seen Gena give Joe an old brake pad and a burnt out spark plug just to see what kind of "sonic magic" he could create with them.

Gus was the savvy veteran of the team. In fact, according to B.D. Joe, Crazy Taxi was a product of Gus' wild youth. A lifelong poker fanatic, Gus had originally converted his worn out old Merc into a taxi as a quick way to pay off a gambling debt he'd racked up when he was twenty-something years old. He quickly gained a reputation as the fastest independent cab driver in San Francisco and pushed himself into a pattern of crazier and crazier driving. Everything that made up Crazy Taxi's identity, from the classic cars to the loud rock music, could be traced back to those first few years of what would become Gus' life's work.

Axel was still finding his own niche within the group. It helped that he was a thrill seeker and a fan of punk rock, but above all he was in it for the money. He found it easy to maintain a cheerful, friendly attitude with the customers and his fellow cabbies. Back in school he was often called "the voice of reason" by his friends, preventing or breaking up fights and keeping a laid back attitude towards life.

Axel finally finished rinsing his cab. The Cadillac glinted in the hot California sun, and he decided that it was time to go in for a glass of water. He strode into the office and over to the water cooler. Gena was laid out on the couch, once again relaxing with an issue of her favourite automotive magazine.

"How's the car wash coming?" she asked.

Axel took a sip of his water and gave her his most charming smile. "All done. And shining bright enough to live up to even your standards, I think."

She was about to reply when there was a knock from the front door. They glanced at each other with somewhat surprised expressions. It was rare that anyone ever actually came in person to the Crazy Taxi office. Usually most of their appointments were set up via the telephone.

"I'll get it," Gena said.

She got up and made her way out to the hallway while Axel gulped down the rest of his water. She opened the front door to reveal a smiling man. He was handsome, sandy blonde and dressed smartly but casually. He carried a small white envelope in his right hand and leaned against the doorframe with his left arm. A small briefcase sat on the stoop beside him.

"Is this the Crazy Taxi cab company?" the visitor asked.

Gena tensed slightly and began to look the guy up and down. Was he a cop? The Crazy Taxi cabbies had definitely committed a few moving violations in their time. Their small core of customers willing to pay big bucks for fast rides was part of their strategy for avoiding trouble with the law. The fewer the people who even really knew about the company, and the more they were willing to spend for a small amount of time on the road, helped to keep Crazy Taxi profitable while remaining under the radar. Had the SFPD finally taken notice of their more eccentric driving habits?

The man in the doorway straightened up.

"Sorry," he said with a laugh, "maybe I should have started with this."

He held out the envelope and Gena hesitantly reached out to take it from him.

"It's my letter of reference. My name is John LaRocque. I work for your friend Cindy's family's company out east in Wisconsin. I just got into town a few days ago for a business convention. Cindy says that there's no one who can get me to my meetings faster than the Crazy Taxi cab company."

"So Cindy told you all about us then?" Gena asked.

"Yeah. She said I'd need a letter of reference from a current customer to be able to hire you guys, and that the cost of your rides is…well, that doesn't matter. I'm willing to pay to get to my meetings on time. There's big money in some deals I've got going on right now. Cindy offered to write me the letter, and I figured, hey, why not?"

At this point Axel was standing in the entryway to the main office and listening in to the conversation. He hadn't had any experience in the recruitment of new customers, so it was best to just watch and see how Gena dealt with this.

Gena had opened the letter and read it quickly. She turned and passed it over to Axel.

"Well, I guess it checks out. That is Cindy's phone number and return address. And it looks like her handwriting, from what I can remember."

"Great! So I'm officially allowed to hire the Crazy Taxi cabbies?" LaRocque asked.

"Sure," Gena shrugged, "I can give you our number and you can call us any time you like."

"Actually," said LaRocque, "is it all right if I get a ride to the hotel downtown right now? It's getting pretty late in the afternoon and I have to prepare some papers for tomorrow morning."

"Sure, it's fine." Gena looked over at Axel. "You want to take this one?"

Axel scoffed. "Yeah right, I just finished scrubbing my cab to a like new shine. You can have this one."

"All right, suit yourself." She turned back to LaRocque. "Just give me a second, I'll pull my cab around and we'll get going right away."

As Gena started towards the garage, Axel approached LaRocque and held out his hand.

"Welcome to the family, Mr. LaRocque."

LaRocque smiled and accepted Axel's hand in a firm shake. "Call me John. I'm glad to be a part of it. I don't think I got either of your names."

"Oh, yeah. Huh. Well, I'm Axel. Your driver today is Gena. It's been pretty quiet this afternoon. I guess she's just so excited about getting a chance to drive that she forgot to introduce herself." Axel said.

There was the unmistakable sound of an engine starting up, and a few seconds later Gena's Nova pulled out of its garage and into the parking lot.

"Well, there's my ride," LaRocque said with a smile, "I'll be seeing you."

Axel gave a short wave goodbye as Gena peeled out of the parking lot with her new found client in the back seat. It was getting late in the afternoon so he headed out to the parking lot to put his own cab back into its garage. He didn't expect many more customers and the phone hadn't rang since around noon. He put the cab in park and headed back into the building to get ready to go home as soon as Gena got back. Making his way down the hall, he paused for a moment as he heard someone knocking furiously at the front door. He arched an eyebrow and headed toward the sound. Having one person show up at the door today was strange enough, and now here was another. Axel opened the door.

"Cindy?"

The college student stood there on the doorstep, breathing heavily and red in the face. She stepped past Axel and looked around.

"Where is everyone?" she asked, her voice strained and panicked.

"B.D. Joe took the day off and Gus was here in the morning. Gena's taking that guy from your family's company down to the hotel right now." Axel said.

Cindy whipped around to face him. Her face had gone from red to pale white in a matter of seconds.

"Oh no." she said weakly. "How long ago did they leave?"

"Just a few minutes ago. John showed up with your letter and-"

"Dammit!" Cindy cried out.

"What? Cindy what's wrong?" Axel asked.

"That guy who gave you the letter is not my friend. I've never even seen him before today!"

"What? But what about the letter? Gena said it had your address and looked like your handwriting."

Cindy took a deep breath to calm herself. "It does, but I didn't write that letter because I wanted to. I was heading home after my last class when I was pulled into a car. This LaRocque guy pulled out a gun and put it against my head. He said he wanted to know how Crazy Taxi chose their customers."

"So you told him he needed a recommendation, and he forced you to write that letter?"

Cindy nodded. "He had a pen and some paper in the car. I thought for sure he would kill me when I finished it, but he let me go. But he said that if I went to the police I wouldn't be so lucky next time."

She took another deep breath. "I tried to call you guys from a pay phone after he let me go, but your line was dead. I ran over here as fast as I could."

"And now Gena is out driving this creep around alone." Axel started back to the garage. "Stay here, I'm going after them."

* * *

The traffic between the bus terminal and the north gate of the mall was one of the toughest places in the city for anyone to drive. The streets were narrow and the traffic was often heavy, and at one point the road split into six lanes, the middle two of which dropped away from the others into a sort of pseudo tunnel for no discernable reason. Gena had navigated this tough spot many times before, and with expert precision chose to drive down the right side lanes. She weaved her cab through the tight traffic and felt a small sense of pride when she glanced back at her new passenger and noticed how tightly he was gripping his seat. They went under an overpass and the six lanes suddenly merged together just before a large intersection. Gena took the slight left that led in the direction of the Osmous Hotel. The last stretch of road was wide and made for an easy drive. The tall, expensive looking hotel sat right at the corner where the street curved. Gena brought her cab across the oncoming lanes and applied the brakes, drifting neatly into position directly in front of the doors of the hotel lobby.

She turned around to gauge LaRocque's reaction to the ride. He had opened the cab's back door as opposed to just hopping over it the way a majority of the customers did. With his briefcase in one hand, he stepped forward.

"So, what was it like to take your first Crazy Taxi ride?" Gena asked with a bright smile.

LaRocque lifted his briefcase and rested it on the driver's side door. He turned slightly, putting his back towards the hotel, and Gena saw that he had a compact automatic pistol held low in his hand. Between the briefcase and the position of LaRocque's own body, there was little chance of any passerby noticing what was happening.

"What-?"

"Shut up," LaRocque interrupted her. "Just listen close. You and your friends have a nice little racket going on here don't you? It ends now."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Gena said.

"You're going to go back to your little office. Then you're going to gather together all of your fellow drivers and tell them to get out of the taxi business. No more Crazy Taxi."

He moved the gun forward a bit for emphasis. "If you don't…well, just remember. I know where you work. I know the names of a lot of your customers. You do this the easy way and you can sell off the company property and move on to something else. The hard way won't be so clean."

"You're insane!"

LaRocque shrugged. "It's just business, Gena."

He straightened up, put the gun away and lowered his briefcase. He reached into his pocket and pulled out seven hundred dollars in cash, which he tossed into Gena's lap.

"Thanks for the ride," he said.

* * *

Axel was so focused on the road in front of him that for a moment he had forgotten he had a passenger. Cindy had insisted on coming along because she felt, despite Axel's assurance to the contrary, that some part of this situation was her fault.

"Axel! Please listen to me!" she shouted from the back seat. She had been trying to get his attention for the past thirty seconds.

"Cindy we don't have time for this. We have to find Gena before that psychopath tries to kill her or something!"

Cindy shook her head. "No. Wait a minute. Look, I study psychology and I'm pretty good at reading people. In spite of the fact that he held a gun on me, I don't think LaRocque is some insane killer or anything. He's interested in Crazy Taxi as a whole. He knew I was one of your customers and he wanted to know how to become a Crazy Taxi customer. Then he came to your office to meet you face to face. There must be something he wants from you guys."

"What if he's just after Gena? Maybe he just wanted to get her alone."

"Did he specifically ask for her to drive him?"

Axel took a deep breath. "No. In fact, Gena asked me if I wanted to give him the ride. He didn't seem like he cared either way."

Cindy sat back in her seat. "He corners me and gets me to fake that letter. Then when I try to call you there's no answer, like the line's been disconnected. If you ask me, all these things are starting to fit together pretty well. LaRocque has some sort of plan to do with your company."

Axel grit his teeth. Whatever LaRocque's goal was, there was no way he was going to achieve it without a fight.

Suddenly, Cindy perked up again. "Axel look! Coming up the road there!"

Axel saw it too. Gena's cab was approaching in the oncoming lane. He slowed his own cab and pulled a U-turn as Gena passed. She pulled over to the side of the road and Axel pulled his car up behind hers. He jumped over the door and rushed up to her car with Cindy close behind.

"Hey! Are you alright?" he asked.

Gena looked up at him. She was pale and obviously a bit shaken, but still managed to keep her usual calm disposition.

"Call Joe and Gus. We all need to have a talk," she said.


	5. Them and Us

Gus clicked off his flashlight as he entered Crazy Taxi headquarters. Axel had tried to use the office phone to call the other two cabbies but, as expected, had found the line dead. He had been forced to go out to find a pay phone, and by the time Gus and B.D. Joe showed up it was already dark outside. The low murmur of conversation in the main office died as Gus entered. The other three cabbies, as well as Cindy who had been asked to stay to fill in her part of the day's events for Gus and Joe, looked up expectantly.

"You were right Axel," Gus said, "the phone line has been cut. Most of the wires are buried, but it looks like LaRocque or somebody working with him cut it right where it comes into the building."

"So what are we going to do?" Gena asked.

"Well, I'll get a guy from the phone company out here first thing in the morning."

"I mean about this whole situation."

Gus sighed. "Yeah, I know what you meant, Gena. Look, you're the one who was directly threatened today. If you feel unsafe or uncomfortable here, I understand completely. Really, that goes for any of you."

"Oh no you don't," Gena said. "Don't try to pull that one on me. I love this job and I love what we do here. I'm not about to let some slimy crook like this LaRocque guy take it away from me."

"What about going to the police?" Cindy suggested.

"Normally that would be the right thing to do," Gus said, "but it would defeat our entire point. If the police investigated LaRocque and his threats against us, they would have to start looking into our business. We could end up losing the whole company anyway."

For the first time since arriving at the office, B.D. Joe spoke up.

"Look, I love this as much as the rest of you guys. It's a blast, and I've made a lot of cash to boot. But if everything you've told me is accurate, then we may be out of our league here. LaRocque knows a lot about us, and we know almost nothing about him. We don't know why he's out to wreck our business. He could be working alone or he could be part of a gang or just some sort of hired gun. How much is he capable of?"

The room faded into a tense silence for a few moments as the group contemplated their situation.

"I may be able to help."

Slightly surprised, the cabbies turned to Cindy.

"How do you figure that?" Axel asked.

"I've got access to the university library. There's tons of old San Francisco newspapers archived there, plus volumes of stuff on crime and case studies from the law department. I'll take some time and look through them, see if I can dig up anything on LaRocque or a criminal organization that goes for this intimidation racket."

"Wow Cindy," Gena said. "You would do that for us?"

"Well, yeah." Cindy replied. "You guys were the first friends I made when I moved here, you know. Besides, without Crazy Taxi I'd have to take the bus everywhere, and to hell with that!"

"Alright then. I say we stick it out. At least until we see if Cindy can find anything on this guy." Axel said.

"Like I already said, I'm not letting LaRocque intimidate me. I'll be here for work bright and early tomorrow morning." Gena added. "What about you, Joe?"

B.D. Joe couldn't help but show a little bit of his smile. "If you guys are in, then I'm not going anywhere."

"OK then, we'll do this," Gus said. "But we need to give each and every one of our customers the full story, or at least as much of it as we have. We don't know how dangerous LaRocque is yet, and I'm not going to have anybody getting hurt if they don't know what they're getting into."

Cindy got up off the couch. "I'm glad to hear you guys aren't giving up. I'm going to go back to my dorm to get some sleep. I'll start looking into LaRocque tomorrow and see what I can find." 

"I'll give you a lift back to U.S.C.G.P. on the house. I head by there anyway," Gus said. "I think we should all go home and get some rest."

The rest of the cabbies got up and made their way through the office to the garage. Before B.D. Joe unlocked his door, Gena grabbed his arm.

"Look Joe, what you said back in the office…I get it. For Gus and I, and even Axel, this is our life. But you're a talented guy with a lot to fall back on."

"Let me stop you right there, G," B.D. Joe said with a smirk. "Now listen, I meant all of what I said back there. You guys are like my family, and if we have to fight for Crazy Taxi, I'm going to be right there beside you."

Gena let go of Joe's arm and flashed him a smile of her own. "Thanks, B.D."

Four garage doors opened, and four cabs pulled out of Crazy Taxi headquarters and onto the dark San Francisco streets. 

John LaRocque stood on the balcony of his room on the top floor of the Osmous Hotel. A cigarette burned low in his hand as he gazed out at the Commercial District below him. Behind him he heard the door to his room open, then close again softly. The voice that spoke would have been unremarkable if not for the uncanny sense of authority it contained.

"I've spoken with our contact," it said. "Their phone will be tapped when the company repairs the line tomorrow."

LaRocque gave a grunt of acknowledgement, then flicked his cigarette butt over the railing.

"I have a feeling this one is going to take some work, Mr. Parelli," he said. "The Crazy Taxi Company is run by a bunch of stubborn twenty-somethings and an old guy set in his ways. I was hoping this would be easy money."

Parelli chuckled. "Money earned easily is money wasted easily LaRocque. You don't mind having to put a little work into this do you?"

"Not at all. I was just hoping to keep this as quiet as possible. These idiots are anything but quiet. I'm shocked the cops haven't figured out their game yet, what with the amount of noise they make. Playing all that punk shit to drown out their own engines-"

"What's the matter LaRocque?" Parelli said in a mocking tone. "Didn't you enjoy your little sample of their work this afternoon?"

LaRocque scoffed. "You didn't hire me for my love and expertise in cars and music, boss."

"No I didn't. Which is why it's worrying me a bit that you seem to think that these 'punks' are going to be a challenge for you. I can put someone else on the assignment…"

"I didn't say it would be a challenge," LaRocque said through gritted teeth. "The job will get done. I'll destroy Crazy Taxi and if any of them want to get in the way, they can go down with it. Chester will get what he wants, we'll get our money, and everything will be just peachy."

Parelli let LaRocque's rant hang in the air for a moment. "Well, I'm glad to hear it."

LaRocque hadn't turned around to look at Parelli throughout their entire conversation. He could hear Parelli making his way back across the hotel room towards the door. He paused.

"I'll contact you when the phone tap is ready. I'm sure you can take care of the rest."

LaRocque kept his eyes forward. Again he heard the door open and close. He reached into his pocket and removed a lighter and his pack of cigarettes. There were five left. He plucked one up and put it in his mouth before lighting it and inhaling deeply. Meetings with the boss, no matter their duration, were always stressful. He began to put the pack away but stopped short. He looked into it; four cigarettes left. The flicker of a smile formed on LaRocque's face. Sliding the cigarettes out of the pack, he took them one by one and slowly crushed them against the railing of the balcony.


	6. Marked

All of the cabbies noticed the conspicuous black BMW parked across the street as they drove into work the next morning. Gus had arrived early and, much to everyone's surprise, a representative from the telephone company was already there to repair the line that had been cut the day before.

"This happens every once in a while," the rep had said. "Some punk kids get some weird ideas and go around vandalizing whatever they can get their hands on. Anyway, you shouldn't have any trouble now."

Almost as soon as the telephone man had left, the phone started to ring. Gus picked up the receiver and a voice babbled from the other end.

"Finally!" exclaimed the man who had called. "I've been calling ever since yesterday afternoon trying to book a ride for this morning! I've got a brunch date with a hot blonde in half an hour!"

"Hey, Pierre." Gus said as the caller began to calm down. "We can give you a ride if you want. But you should know that there's a…situation with the company right now."

"What kind of situation?" Pierre asked.

"Well, I know this sounds a bit strange, but, uh, someone's found out about the company and for whatever reason they're trying to take us out. There's been some threats against us and our customers."

"If you want to hear threats you should hear what I'll say to you if you don't get me from the cable car stop to the cafeteria within a few minutes. I have a first impression to make!"

Gus sighed. "All right. Just thought you'd like to know. I'll send Axel to pick you up."

Gus turned to the rest of the cabbies. "Well, at least now we know some of our customers are as stubborn as we are. Axel, are you still on board?"

Axel got up and pulled his keys out of his pocket. "Bring it on!"

"Alright, Pierre's waiting for you at the cable car stop. Make sure you keep an eye on that BMW if they try to start something."

Meanwhile, the driver of the aforementioned BMW jumped as his cell phone started to chime with its shrill ringtone. He still hadn't gotten used to the damn thing, high strung as he was when on a job, but it was a necessary evil for this assignment. He searched for and eventually pressed the "Answer" button and put the phone to his ear.

"What's up boss?"

"Our cabbie friends haven't taken our warnings to heart, Kent. They're answering customer calls." It was LaRocque's voice. "It looks like we're going to have to do this the hard way after all."  
Kent watched as a big yellow taxi pulled out of one of the garages in front of him.

"So the plan is a go then?"

"Not yet," LaRocque said. "This one won't be taking the highway. Just sit tight until I ring you again."

"Sure thing boss," said Kent, sitting back and kicking his feet up onto the dash.

* * *

Cindy glanced up at the clock hanging above the small desk she had managed to snatch in the crowded university library. She still had about half an hour until her next class. Of course, it would probably take her about ten minutes just to reorganize and re-shelve the pile of books on California crime currently stacked in front of her. It had been worth it though, mentions of John LaRocque's name were common, but brief, in many of them. Though implicated in a number of incidents, notably for fraud and blackmail, LaRocque had never been convicted or even gone to trial. He was barely an afterthought in these case studies. Cindy had taken close to a full page of notes. As she looked now, she noticed it was mostly a list of dates she planned to look up in the newspaper archives. Hopefully she could find some articles with a bit more information on LaRocque's "alleged" activities than the books offered. For now though, she closed the book she had been scanning through and began to pack up. The newspaper search would have to wait for a while. She still had her grades to think of, after all.

* * *

Axel arrived back at Crazy Taxi HQ in the best mood he had been in for the past two days. Not even the sight of the sinister black car out front could bring him down. Only Gus and B.D. Joe were in the office, and Gus was currently talking on the phone.

"You sure look happy," B.D. Joe remarked.

"Joe my man, I think I just had my best run ever. Picture this: Getting air off of each hill alongside the cable cars. Drifting through traffic. Getting my customer pumped up for his date. You know, I think Pierre may actually have a chance at true love this time."

Joe laughed. "You have one hot drive and suddenly you think you're a miracle worker-"

Gus hung up the phone and Joe turned around.

"Hey man, you got an assignment for me? I need to show this green-haired bozo how a pro drives!"

"Sorry B.D." Gus said. "I think I'm going to have to take this one myself. Grandma J needs a ride to the police station. Apparently she has a problem with a neighborhood cafeteria or something. I'll try to talk her down on the way."

"Well, if that's the way it's gotta be. Hopefully Gena's got your shocks fixed up out in the garage." He turned back to Axel as Gus left the room. "So, give me some more details man!"

Axel kept on bragging about his driving skills until he lost Joe's attention a few seconds later, thanks to Gena entering the office. She was wiping her grease covered hands on a rag and made her way over to the window to watch Gus drive off.

"Hmm. I still don't think I got that car tuned up quite right," she said with a low grunt of disapproval. Suddenly, she stiffened. "Uh-oh guys, we may have some trouble."

"What, did Gus lose a wheel or something?" Axel asked, somewhat miffed at having his story interrupted.

"That creep in the BMW just took off after him," she said, "I think one of us should follow them. I've got a bad feeling about this."

"I'll handle it," said Joe. "I'm itching to get out on the road. You get cleaned up and Axel can take any more calls we might get."

B.D. Joe jumped up and took off at a run towards the garage.

"He's a great guy, isn't he?" Gena said.

Axel raised an eyebrow. "Yeah, the coolest."

* * *

An instant after Gus pulled up to the cafeteria, an old woman in pajamas jumped over the back door in a surprising display of agility.

"Step on it, son!" she cried. "Take me to the police station. I won't stand for this desecration of American tradition!"

Gus pulled away, then casually draped his arm over the back of his seat.

"Look Grandma J. You can't really expect the police to arrest the cafeteria chef for overcooking your hamburger a little."

"A little? I ordered that burger medium-well! Those hacks burned every last morsel of flavour right out of the meat!" The old lady was shaking a fist while her other hand gripped the seat of the taxi.

"This seems like a job for the restaurant manager, not the police," Gus said.

"Oh no you don't, Gus! I'm not letting you placate me this time. I'm mad as hell and the police are going to hear about it! I pay my taxes!"

By this time Gus had pulled on to the highway and was heading towards the downtown area. Focused on his efforts to calm the feisty old woman, he hadn't noticed the BMW that had been following him. For Kent, this had been the hardest tail job he had ever undertaken, and he had given up on trying to be discreet. He was thankful that Gus was partially distracted talking to the old bat he had picked up as a passenger, as it was already all he could do to keep up with the weaving Mercury.

Kent pulled into the parking lot of the baseball stadium, located mere yards away from the highway onramp. He fished around in his pocket and removed the cell phone, placing it down on the console beside him. Then he kicked his feet up onto the dash and, expecting a call, waited for it to start ringing. B.D. Joe was still playing catch-up, but since he knew where Gus was going, he also knew where the BMW would be. He followed the road as it turned sharply in front of the RB Station. Then the road sloped downward and overlooked the parking lot of the baseball stadium to the right. Since there was no game on today, there were few cars parked at the stadium. Joe immediately noticed one that was parked there was the black BMW. He pulled his cab over to the side of road and put it in park, giving himself the perfect vantage point to watch the car.

* * *

The police station was situated right on the edge of the downtown core, and was the first building Gus saw after the highway terminated. He rolled up into the parking lot and, just as quickly as she had jumped into the cab, Grandma J jumped out.

"Now I know you kids get a bit nervous around the police," Grandma J began, "so why don't you just take off and I'll call you when I need you. This could take a while."

She handed Gus a wad of cash and rushed off towards the building. Gus counted the bills and rolled his eyes. Grandma J may be off her rocker, but she paid well. Plus she was the only person who had called him a "kid" in about twenty years. He put the cab in Drive and drove back to the highway, leaving the police station behind him.

* * *

Once again, Kent sat bolt upright as his cell phone's ringer broke the silence in the BMW. It got to him even when he was expecting a call. He picked up the phone and answered it. "Hello?"

"The rest of the boys are ready," LaRocque said. "Get on the highway now."

"Finally! I've been getting antsy waiting around here," said Kent.

"Just don't get sloppy. Now hurry up."

* * *

Gus saw the big moving truck coming in his rear view mirror, but by that time it was too late. It rammed into the back of his cab so hard that he lost his grip on the steering wheel. The cab's rear swung out and it skidded sideways for a split second before the wheels, still under full power, found traction on the road again. The lane of the highway Gus had been travelling in was slightly higher than the oncoming, and Gus' car went over the small embankment and crashed nose first onto the asphalt of the lane below before slamming into the concrete retaining wall. The force of the impact bounced the still spinning car into the air briefly, before it finally came to rest back down on all four wheels. The moving truck simply continued down the highway, a few telltale scratches and a slightly bent front bumper being the only indications of its role in the devastating wreck.

B.D Joe followed BMW as it pulled onto the highway. He kept his distance from it, keeping just close enough to keep it in his line of sight and hope its driver didn't notice that he had picked up a tail. Joe frowned. Why would this guy follow Gus as far as the baseball stadium, only to sit around for a few minutes before continuing down the highway? Joe picked up his pace as he drove by the stadium himself, fearing that he was going to lose his quarry on the crowded highway. He didn't need to worry about that.

Traffic on the highway had come to a complete stop, and the BMW was just a few cars ahead. Its driver, along with a number of others, had exited his car. The group surrounded a crumpled yellow convertible that Joe immediately identified as the remains of Gus' cab. Shrapnel, pieces of rubber, and chunks of concrete from the retaining wall littered the highway surface. The sirens of emergency vehicles blared a short distance away and were growing louder by the second. Joe rushed forward to see that a woman was checking his friend's vitals. He unknowingly brushed right by the driver of the BMW, who finally noticed Joe for the first time.

"How is he?" Joe asked the woman.

"Alive, but…"she trailed off. Police cars were arriving on the scene and an ambulance wasn't far behind. Kent had slipped back through the crowd unnoticed amongst the commotion and was sitting behind the wheel of his car. He dialed a number on his cell phone.

"Well?" LaRocque asked.

"The guy's in pretty rough shape, boss. There was no chance for me to finish him off though, too many people around."

"Not a problem, Kent. I really just needed you to confirm the job was done."

"One of the other cabbies tailed me down to the scene. He's over at the wreck right now watching the medics."

"Good. I was expecting them to follow you anyway. Why did you think I parked you right outside their front door?" LaRocque chuckled, and for a moment it sounded to Kent like he was taking a drag from a cigarette. "The point here was to send a stronger message. If they ignore us this time, well, then there's really no hope for them is there?"


	7. The Kids Aren't Alright

Axel and B.D. Joe were restless. They paced around the small hospital room while Gena sat beside Gus' bed in the only guest chair, her head in her hands. In the corner, a heart rate monitor was beeping softly.

"This is my fault," Gena said. "I convinced all you guys to keep the business going and look what's happened."

"It's not your fault Gena," said Joe. "We all agreed together we were going to fight for the company. We knew it could get dangerous."

Axel nodded. "Joe's right Gena. The only people to blame for this are LaRocque and whoever his cronies are. You're sure you didn't see him at the crash, Joe?"

"Pretty sure." B.D. Joe replied. "I was more worried about Gus than anyone, but I think I would have noticed if he was there. And he wasn't the one in the BMW."

"And somebody must have been driving that truck that the witnesses said hit him," Axel growled. "Some kind of moving truck. It's not much but it gives us somewhere to start. Maybe LaRocque's gang is using a moving company as a front. I can call Cindy and-"

"No!" Gena jumped up from her chair. "We've got to call this whole thing off. I'm not going to have Cindy or any of our friends or customers get hurt."

"We can't just give in now, Gena!" Axel said, beginning to get agitated.

"Hey, hey. Keep it down guys. We're in a hospital," said Joe. "Look Gena, you told me that Crazy Taxi is your life, right? You want to throw that away?"

"No. I mean, I didn't think so," Gena glanced over at Gus. "But look where it's got us now."

"Gus was the one who started this company. It's his life's work," Joe said. "He said he wants to defend what he's built here, and I know he wants to keep fighting, just like I do. We've got to keep fighting for everything that Gus has given us. He gave each one of us the opportunity to do something we love, and I'm not going to give that up."

"Me neither," said Axel. "I want to make these creeps pay for what they did."

Gena took a deep breath. "OK, fine, you're right. We're fighting for our lives here. But I meant what I said about our friends getting hurt. We have to do this ourselves from now on."

"Alright," Axel said, taking a seat on the end of the bed. "I'll call Cindy this afternoon when her classes are done and tell her to stay out of this whole mess. In the meantime though, we need a plan. How do we draw LaRocque out if we're not running our business?"

"Drawing him out won't be the problem," said Gena. "Even if we gave in and decided to quit, he'll still send someone around to watch us and make sure we're serious about moving out of the office."

"He might even send us his own truck to help," Joe said, crossing his arms.

"You're right about that," Axel said. "He's definitely going to be keeping tabs on us. We know he's part of some organization for sure now. But we still don't have any idea of its scope. Is LaRocque even the real top dog?"

"That's the real issue," Gena confirmed. "We need to figure out a way to get the information we need-without using Cindy."

"Maybe we should just play it by ear for now," B.D. Joe suggested. "We go through the motions, pretend we're doing what they want. But this time, when they send someone to watch over us, we'll be ready. If we get lucky, we may even be able to make our own move."

Gena sighed. "Do you think you have any better ideas Axel?"

"No. It's frustrating, but I think Joe's plan is the best we can do for now."

* * *

Blake Chester was sitting in his car, sweating profusely. A horde of different emotions were running through him. He was angry and frustrated, but more than that his stomach was knotted in anxiety. He was afraid too. He had heard the traffic report on the radio. Cars backed up on the highway, ambulances and police cruisers all surrounding a wrecked yellow taxi cab. This hadn't been the way he'd wanted things to go. No one was actually supposed to get hurt…or worse. It was just supposed to be a little bit of intimidation to eliminate the competition. He smoothed down his shirt as best as he could and took a deep breath. He looked at the large envelope on the seat beside him and then out the window at the Crazy Taxi headquarters. It had taken a little bit of searching, but he had managed to track the place down. Crazy Taxi drivers may have broken some of the rules of the road, had a hand-selected clientele and kept themselves fairly underground, but they still had to keep things legitimate. That meant a business license, operating permits, and taxi licenses for their drivers. Plenty of things that could be used to track them down if someone was really looking.

At this point the other drivers must have heard about their co-worker's "accident." Blake was banking on the hope that they had all gone down to the hospital to check up on him. He couldn't be sure though, there was no way for him to tell if any cars were parked in the garage without going straight up to look. He was just here to drop off the envelope and then get out of town.

Blake looked around one last time to make sure no one was paying attention to him. There weren't many people around to begin with. Late evening had begun to take over the city and Crazy Taxi's home office wasn't located in a very busy part of town. With his nerves about as steady as he could manage them, he opened the door to his car and stepped out. He strode quickly across the street, trying to act as natural as possible. He got to the front door of the building and crouched down, searching for a mail slot in the waning light. He found one in the door and, folding the envelope roughly in half so that it would fit, pushed it through the mail slot until it stuck about halfway through. Satisfied with what he had done, Blake turned around to leave.

And came face to face with a very angry looking young woman.

She had a fist raised as though ready to strike him down right there on the front step, and a key was jutting out from between her middle and ring fingers. Her other arm was occupied with carrying a notebook.

"Who the hell are you?" Cindy demanded.

Blake was taken aback. "Uh, no one. I mean, I'm just here to deliver something."

Cindy scoffed. "You know, I have some friends who work here. They've been getting some unwanted visitors lately. I've got a feeling you might know something about that."

"What? N-no! Of course not!" Blake stuttered. "I just had to deliver a package. That's all."

"You don't look like the UPS guy." Cindy said. "You know, there's been some suspicious cars around here too. It's making my friends kind of nervous. They feel threatened. Maybe I should call the cops and give them your license plate number."

It was a bluff, of course. Cindy had taken the call from Axel in her dorm room, telling her about Gus, and that he and the other drivers didn't want to put her in any more danger. She didn't like being left out of their plans, but she had been heading to Crazy Taxi headquarters to drop off the notes she had uncovered on LaRocque anyway. She noticed the suspicious car sitting out front, and had seen Blake get out of it, but she hadn't actually thought to get the plate number ahead of time. On top of that, her Crazy Taxi friends still didn't want to get the police involved, so far as she knew. And would the police even respond to a call about a parked car just because one person thought it looked a little suspicious? Either way, the point was moot. Cindy could tell the guy was too nervous to think straight. She was just hoping the threat of cops would be enough to push him over the edge.

It was enough. Chester began to break down.

"OK, OK. You're right. I'm involved in all of this, but not in the way you think. It's all gone out of my control."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Cindy asked.

Blake looked down at the ground, avoiding Cindy's eyes. "Those guys who've been after your, uh, 'friends?' I hired them."

Blake felt a stinging, burning sensation as Cindy's key cut into his cheek. She punched him hard across his face, and the addition of the key was enough draw a rivulet of blood.

"You son of a bitch!" she screamed.

Blake stepped back, and his back made contact with the front door.

"Wait! Please listen to me. I didn't hire them to do…what they've started doing. It wasn't supposed to go this far."

"You'd better give me a damn good reason not to…"Cindy let the threat hang. She couldn't think of anything dramatic enough to express her rage.

"I said I didn't want it to go this far! I'm trying to help make things right. Look, the envelope, it's got a ton of stuff in it that can help to put away LaRocque. You may even be able to expose some the rest of his gang. Photos of us making the deal, my copy of our contract-"

"Yeah right," Cindy interrupted him. "Like there's a legally binding contract for this kind of thing."

"It doesn't have to be legally binding," said Blake. "It's just a safeguard. LaRocque and I each sign the contract, take some photos and video of us doing it. Then we both get a copy of everything. Something to hold over each other, to keep the deal from going sour. He said that most people keep it in a safety deposit box or let someone they trust hold it in case of…complications. If one of us lets the information out, we're both incriminated. It's mutually assured destruction."

Blake was talking fast, but Cindy got the gist of what he was saying.

"So you're willing to go to jail?"

Blake looked away again, a gesture Cindy understood.

"Or maybe your plan was just to leave this here and hightail it Mexico for a while."

Blake snapped. "I never wanted this to happen! They were just supposed to intimidate them a little bit, drive some rich customers towards me. Look, the evidence is all there, you can take it to your friends right now. Just let me get out of town so that LaRocque can't come after me! If he finds out what I'm doing here-"

Cindy stepped around Blake and snatched up the envelope from the mail slot. She carefully opened it up and slid some of its contents out to get a better look. A signed sheet of paper, some photos of LaRocque and Blake together; it seemed to check out. Besides, if this guy really wanted to get past her, Cindy doubted she could physically stop him. She put the evidence back in the envelope and stepped aside.

"Get out of here. And you'd better move fast."

Blake didn't need to be told twice.


End file.
